Where is childbirth most dangerous?

Click any country to see its maternal mortality ratio — the number of women who die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births.

or click the map

Maternal mortality ratio

0100800+

No data

Global average

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Highest

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Lowest

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Overview

Maternal mortality — deaths from pregnancy and childbirth per 100,000 births — ranges from a handful in the safest countries to over a thousand in the most dangerous. Almost all these deaths are preventable.

Key facts

The safest countries record fewer than 5 maternal deaths per 100,000 births.
The highest ratios, above 1,000, are in conflict-affected and low-income countries.
The vast majority of maternal deaths are preventable with basic care.

Common questions

What is the maternal mortality ratio?

The number of women who die from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth, per 100,000 live births, in a given year.

Why is it so high in some countries?

Lack of skilled birth attendants, emergency obstetric care and access to health facilities drives high maternal mortality, especially where health systems are weak or disrupted by conflict.

Where does the data come from?

WHO and UN maternal mortality estimates, via Our World in Data.

Sources & methodology

Data from WHO / UN (via Our World in Data), compiled via Our World in Data. Global figures are population-weighted across the countries that report this measure; countries without reliable recent data are shown as “no data”.

Last updated: 3 August 2026.